Oddbean new post about | logout
 Again, no one is forcing them to have sex.  
 Biologically there are 4 things people are driven to do with enough drive to have created 8,000,000,000 people alive today. 

1: Breath
2: Drink water
3: Eat food
4: Reproduce 

Good luck telling people all they have to do is not do what their hormones are driving them to do. Abstinence only education works so well to prevent teen pregnancies doesn't it?

I suppose we should prevent people who have obesity from getting help too, it's their fault they're fat after all because all they had to do was not eat!

You do not live in the real world. 
 Your claim is people are too dumb to make responsibe decisions. I think more highly of human beings. Humans are accountable for their actions. Making a stupid decision does not mean you are devoid of consequences.  
 Humans, when given the opportunities and education to know the best courses of action to avoid consequences of their actions, are generally reasonable and responsible people. I do think highly of well informed people with resources at their fingertips, but that is not the state of the world today. 

Most people are deliberately kept in the dark with abstinence only education being the dominant education on sex given to hormone filled teenagers in conservative controlled countries such as much of the United States. There are also groups that fight contraceptive access and that discourage condom use, these are mostly religious groups who view pregnancy as divine punishment for women that shouldn't be avoided.

I think we agree more than disagree here. Expand access to contraceptives and expand education on safe sex practices, rather than just telling people "no sex! sex bad!" as is basically currently the case, and unwanted pregnancies and abortions would naturally plummet. That's what we all want, less unwanted pregnancies and less abortions.

Just because I'm pro-choice doesn't mean I'm not also pro-life, but I believe consent of the woman and a desire and ability to care for the child in a safe environment free from abuse should be what every child born should expect. Children should be born only to people that want them and can effectively care for them, they should not be forced to be born to someone who doesn't love them and is likely to abuse or neglect them. 
 They consented to the sex.